Navigating the discursive tensions of the public university: the case of a South African student

As public universities seek to be locally responsive and compete internationally, tensions arise between expansion and equity, and between discourses of neoliberalism and social justice. This article focuses on how students navigate these tensions, and the implications for how they can act, interact...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Teaching in higher education 2019-02, Vol.24 (2), p.231-247
Main Author: le Roux, Kate
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Colleges & universities
Critical discourse analysis
Disadvantaged
Discourse Analysis
English (Second Language)
Family Relationship
Foreign Countries
Higher education
Institutional Characteristics
Language of Instruction
longitudinal analysis
Longitudinal Studies
Low Achievement
marginalisation
Neoliberalism
Science Education
Second Language Learning
Slums
Social Class
Social justice
State Universities
Student Attitudes
Student Characteristics
Undergraduate Students
Whites
widening participation
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Summary:As public universities seek to be locally responsive and compete internationally, tensions arise between expansion and equity, and between discourses of neoliberalism and social justice. This article focuses on how students navigate these tensions, and the implications for how they can act, interact and be. Norman Fairclough's three-level view of the social and language, and his method of critical discourse analysis are used to analyse longitudinal interviews with an undergraduate science student. This student is, on account of his home and schooling, considered 'historically marginalised' at an historically-white, English-medium South African university. The results show how the student navigates multiple positionings that draw on notions of class, language, independence, progress, choice, care, and so on. It is argued that while universities should support students to navigate some of these tensions, there is a need to re-imagine structuring discourses related to the 'normal', 'independent' university student.
ISSN:1356-2517
1470-1294
DOI:10.1080/13562517.2018.1485644